


What Did You Want Me to Say?

by vioxiate



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Jeith - Freeform, M/M, Random & Short, Short, idk what this is, jaith - Freeform, nothing special
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 13:04:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15663774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vioxiate/pseuds/vioxiate
Summary: He was confused. It was just unnervingly ironic that, out of the four cadets on hand, Keith ended up withhim, James Griffin—the snotty kid from his younger days at the Garrison who he once punched,hard.The same snotty kid who was now the leader of his own team, one of Garrison’s top students, and dare he say, quite the sight for sore eyes.And despite their previous animosity towards each other, James hadwillinglypicked him, without a cinch of hesitation present, as the paladin he planned to take to the base.





	What Did You Want Me to Say?

Keith stared bewilderedly at the back of the pilot’s seat.

A solution on how to reach each of the six bases inconspicuously had been found: each paladin would be assigned an MFE who was equipped with the task of flying them to their designated location. From there, the coordinated attack to destroy all the Zaiforge cannons before they were launched would start.

Keith wasn’t worried about the plan—no, the procedure was clear and to the point; everyone knew what they had to do, and he had faith it would be a success if it were all to go accordingly.

Instead, he was confused. It was just unnervingly ironic that, out of the four cadets on hand, the half-Galran ended up with _him_ , James Griffin—the snotty kid from his younger days at the Garrison who he once punched, _hard_.

The same snotty kid who was now the leader of his own team, one of Garrison’s top students, and dare he say, quite the sight for sore eyes.

And despite their previous animosity towards each other, James had _willingly_ picked him, without a cinch of hesitation present, as the paladin he planned to take to the base.

Keith wasn’t blind, at least not as much as he used to be. He could tell, ever since their return to Earth, James had been keeping an eye on him. The tense atmosphere between them was impermeable and unsettling, almost untouchable, and it seemed to be at its peak right now.

The two hadn’t spoken at all, which made sense in the context and severity of their current situation; however, Keith couldn’t help but think that the suffocating stiffness clogging his throat also teemed with tacit words that begged to be released.

But as the ride became longer and quieter (which was apparently possible), Keith shrugged off the idea as a wild conjecture conjured up by his mind.

“Don’t die…out there.” Faltering words that blended with the stillness of the air yet were audible enough to be heard caught the black paladin off-guard. For a moment, he thought that his mind had imagined it, that the James in front of him didn’t _really_ say that, but then Keith spotted James’ unnaturally rigid posture, the way his gloved hands anxiously clenched the handle even tighter, how the ambience changed—just slightly—and became less smothering.

And he concluded that, yes, he had been right all along.

“I won’t.” Keith’s clipped words were devoid of any emotion—what feeling was he supposed to convey to someone like James? Comfort? Encouragement? He didn’t even know the true meaning behind James’ words, a near stranger.

“You sure about that?” James quickly spit back, a scowl making its way along his face. Keith was tempted to roll his eyes; he calmly told himself to simply ignore the sudden rashness coming from the cadet—after all, he didn’t know nor would he understand the things Keith had seen in his three years in space—the aching feelings of pain, loss, and complete hopelessness he constantly succumbed to; the adversities his team, no, his _family_ had no option but to overcome.

There was a war, and death was an inevitable factor of it. But now that they’re here, he’ll be damned if he dies, if any of them die, before they save the one place that he always found himself calling home.

“What did you want me to say? Don’t tell me you were hoping I’d take this as an opportunity to apologize for that punch I gave you back then.” Keith raised a prying eyebrow, eyes flitting from the window to James, only to be met with the back of his seat once more.

He was really starting to hate that.

“No. That...no, that’s not what I wanted to hear.” Keith could hear it; he didn’t know why his ears were suddenly so quick at catching the subtle changes in his imposing tone, the seeping anxiety that started to simmer in his voice, and the untamed uncertainty that overlapped with it, but he guessed the reasoning didn’t matter anyways—not when he finally realized the veiled implications behind James’ words, the ones that freely roamed in his head, but incongruously, couldn’t trek beyond the realms of his thoughts.

And so, as the corner of his lip lifted into a confident smirk, and his eyes caught James’ eyes through the rear-view mirror, Keith tried again:  
“I can outfly anyone here, trust me when I say that the last person you need to worry about is me.”

**Author's Note:**

> i barely had a vague idea of what this was going to be to be honest, so i just wrote.  
> this is the product.  
> i still don't know what this is.  
> but i do know one thing: it sucks.
> 
> THANK YOU FOR READING THOUGH.


End file.
